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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25710823">Passing Conversations</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kintsugis/pseuds/kintsugis'>kintsugis</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Minecraft (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Character Study, Gen, Minor Violence, idk how to character tag this... i ignored the rpf tags, kinda????</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 09:42:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,222</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25710823</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kintsugis/pseuds/kintsugis</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Talks by the fire and in the forest, both of which aren't heard by the wanderer between them.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>No Romantic Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>212</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Passing Conversations</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A bit of writing for ATiredShota's <a href="https://twitter.com/ATiredShota/status/1289492228725829632?s=20">mcyt post-apocalypse au</a>. Lots of creative liberty since idk any of the actual lore, and in the end this just references stuff + some of my own world-building that's not canon in the au. I had fun writing this though, I might write more soon!</p><p>If you like my writing, leave a kudos or a comment! Any support goes a long way. Thank you!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You’re an idiot.”</p><p>“Wha--you’re the one who jumped in head first!”</p><p>“If your trap worked then I would’ve had an easier time killing them--”</p><p>Sapnap pointed his flamethrower at Dream and George, eyes narrowed in annoyance. “It doesn’t matter who made things worse! You <i>both</i> are dumb! Just accept that we’re alive now.”</p><p>They both quieted down, watching as Sapnap lowered his gun and sat back down beside the campfire. George was the first to spare a glance at Dream, but the masked man provided no response as he clicked his tongue and continued to shuffle through his backpack. </p><p>The three of them were currently situated in one of many dilapidated buildings right outside the city border. After a run in with a horde of mecha zombies, they barely managed to escape through the forest and into the ruins of an empty convenience store. With the sun quickly setting, they decided to make use of this safehaven tucked within the confines of the overgrowth. </p><p>Dream was the first to finish checking through his loot. He got up from the floor and lugged the large blob-shaped bag on his back before walking to the entrance of the store.</p><p>“Where--”</p><p>“I’ll just get some firewood,” Dream said, dismissing him with a wave of his hand. </p><p>“Don’t die out there,” Sapnap joked.</p><p>“I can’t even if I tried,” Dream chuckled.</p><p>A pause settled between the three of them, a silence that is both acknowledged yet left in the air. They all <i>knew</i> it wasn’t easy to kill him--they’ve seen it first hand, many times before--but even with that fact, did they actually understand the extent of a super soldier? </p><p>“I’ll… I’ll be back,” Dream answered briskly, walking out. </p><p>As the large silhouette of Dream’s backpack merged with the darkness of the forest, George went over to take a seat beside Sapnap. The man was switching out a used up fuel canister for a new one. George watched as the soldier made quick work of a task that was second nature to him. The empty canister was placed to his left, and as Sapnap turned to his right for the new one he caught his friend watching his movements intently.</p><p>“Stalker much?” Sapnap laughed. George laughed along with him with a light punch to the shoulder before gesturing to the canister.</p><p>“Don’t let me stop you,” George said, pulling his bag and bow beside him.</p><p>“Well, you did.”</p><p>“Well, <i>I’m sorry</i>.”</p><p>They both giggled. Laughter in the apocalypse wasn’t the usual, but it was a reprieve from always trying to survive. In a world where the aliens could strike at any moment just as they did when they first arrived, the group did their best in keeping their spirits up whether it be by goofing around during quiet moments, making side bets during their expeditions, or talking casually like they were doing now. The three of them only had each other after all. Who knows what the group would do if one of them suffered a fatal blow that they couldn’t come back from; they tried not to think about that possibility often.</p><p>“Where are we heading tomorrow?” Sapnap asked, taking one of the longer sticks of the campfire to play with the flame. George felt a bead of sweat by his face at how easygoing his friend was with fire.</p><p>“We can probably take the north route from here to search the eastern perimeter of this city. Some old flyers from the building we looted showed to some nearby towns too,” George answered.</p><p>“Wanna make a bet?”</p><p>George raised a brow at him.</p><p>“I have a good feeling about the next place,” Sapnap beamed, throwing the stick back into the fire and turning to George. The light from the fire illuminated him in bright reds and oranges against the darkness, but the scene wasn’t unfamiliar for a man who played with fire so often. </p><p>“If we can find a survivor, I get dibs on whatever you find in the next town.”</p><p>“And if we don’t?”</p><p>“You get dibs.”</p><p>George blew a raspberry at him, “More loot for me then. You really think unarmed civilians would’ve survived in this mess?”</p><p>The fire grew for a moment, enough to highlight the determined shine in Sapnap’s eyes.</p><p>“I never said they had to be a civilian,” he shrugged as laid down on the floor.</p><p>“For all we know we could find another soldier, mechanic, or scientist. People like us are surviving.”</p><p>“Yeah sure,” George said, rolling his eyes, “if we’re <i>more</i> lucky we’ll find some kids who survived too.”</p><p>“You never know.”</p><p>The conversation trailed off with George watching the fire while Sapnap staring up at the ceiling. In the silence of the night, the only sounds that surrounded them was the crackling fire and the whispering wind. The occasional howls of wolves echoed through the forest, and a broken branch or two got them reaching for their weapons, but in the end only a few minutes passed before one of them spoke up again.</p><p>“You think Dream could die out there?” </p><p>George opened his mouth to answer, but realized he had none.</p><p>“<i>Hypothetically</i>,” Sapnap added quickly.</p><p>“Since, you know, he’s a super soldier. They’re not supposed to die… but what if?”</p><p>“If super soldiers died easily the government wouldn’t have relied so heavily on them,” George said.</p><p>Sapnap hummed, “I guess you’re right.”</p><p>George wasn’t satisfied with that half-assed answer, “Why’d you ask that?”<br/>
<br/>
“I bet’cha Dream’s sticking his nose into things that he shouldn’t right now.”</p><p>“... Yeah."</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“If you both weren’t soldiers, what would you be doing?”</p><p>Wilbur’s question was met with a snort and silence from his two friends, to which he responded with feigned hurt.</p><p>Techno walked ahead of Wilbur and Phil who was listening in on the ex-journalist’s stories prior to the apocalypse. The three of them were scouting the division between the city and the forest for paths and locations they could save for future expeditions. Tonight was a slow night, with over an hour of travelling in the forest, and they hadn’t come across anything of particular interest.</p><p>“I’d settle down in the countryside,” Phil answered after some pestering from the scout.</p><p>“Living life off-the-grid, maybe with some adventure. I’d test how long I can survive out there without dying.”</p><p>Wilbur jogged up to Techno, walking by his right, “How about you, Techno?”</p><p>“I don’t know, a farmer I guess,” Techno answered, eyes still focused on the remnants of a cobblestone path.</p><p>“How would that benefit you, huh?” Phil followed up, catching up to walk by his left.</p><p>Techno chuckled to himself, “Maybe some other guy would compete with me.”</p><p>“Then someone from a multi-million dollar company would hand me a crown if I won against him and pat me on the back. I would waste years on it, and it wouldn’t be worth it, but you asked and that’s my answer.”</p><p>“In an alternate universe where the apocalypse wasn’t a thing, Techno would wage an agricultural war and Phil would live a hundred years in his own land before dying ‘cause of something stupid,” Wilbur finalized, shaking his head. </p><p>“What would you do?” Phil asked.</p><p>“Make music, commit crimes, or both.”</p><p>“And here <i>I</i> am as the bounty hunter--”</p><p>
  <i>Crack.</i>
</p><p>Before more banter could ensue, Phil raised his hand to silence the two. Techno and Wilbur immediately went quiet. They watched as Phil placed a finger to his lips and tilted his head to the left. They all crouched down to the height of the bushes before crawling into the foliage. The three of them stayed within earshot of each other but with enough distance where one could attack without revealing the other. </p><p>Techno was the first to spot the figure. About thirty feet away was half a silhouette of another person behind a tree. Whoever they were had heard his group and knew that he had been found. The grip on Techno’s sword tightened as the trees barely parted to reveal the glint of a weapon--an axe. The bounty hunter looked over to the commander, who made a series of hand signals.</p><p>
  <i> You, forward and wait. Wilbur, right. Me, left. Attack at signal.</i>
</p><p>Techno relayed the same signals to Wilbur, who raised the signal for<i>“I understand”</i>before flanking to the left. After making sure Phil was heading to his position on the right, Techno began to shuffle forward through the bushes. Whoever was behind the tree seemed to know his predicament as a bundle of small branches and sticks were thrown off to the side. Whatever they were collecting it for was of no importance to the other group, they just needed to make sure the person wasn’t a threat.</p><p>Before Phil could make the signal, the figure dashed forward.</p><p>Techno immediately combat rolled off to the side, blowing his cover but escaping where the axe blades had cut through. The attacker pulled their weapon out of the ground with ease and took another swing down on him, and the soldier used his own blade to deflect it with a strong swing. The impact caused the attacker to stagger back, and in the light of the moon Techno’s eyes widened at the white mask of an individual he thought he wouldn’t see again.</p><p>“I knew those voices were familiar.”</p><p>The bushes to the left rustled, and in a flash a green blade was held against a green axe. Phil’s breath hitched, and the axe was brought down with enough force to throw Phil back. Dream snickered as Phil groaned and pushed himself out of the bushes. Techno attempted to take another swing, but the fellow super soldier’s reflexes matched his own. The bounty hunter’s eyes glowed brighter in irritation; it didn’t take a detective to know there was a shit-eating smirk under that mask.</p><p>
  <i>BANG!</i>
</p><p>From the right, Wilbur stood out of the bushes with his gun. Dream had been shot by the side, and in the moment Techno took advantage of the weakened grip by ducking down and swiping his opponent by the legs. Dream fell, back hitting the ground first as the wind was knocked out of him. The bounty hunter placed a foot to his chest while aiming the tip of his sword to his neck. The masked man raised his hands in surrender, one of which was caked in the blood of where Wilbur shot.</p><p>“We can talk this out,” Dream choked out.</p><p>“Let’s not get hasty,” Techno deadpanned.</p><p>“You were the one watching us.”</p><p>Dream paused for a moment, before chuckling (and coughing, he <i>was</i> pinned down and bleeding after all).</p><p>“Watching you? Isn’t the forest big enough for me to stumble into you three?” Dream offered.</p><p>“Debatable,” Phil scoffed.</p><p>“No, really, I <i>didn’t</i> know. Get your foot off me so we can talk.”</p><p>Techno looked at Wilbur and Phil for confirmation, and they both gestured to their respective weapons. He took his foot off but kept his sword within distance. Dream sat up slowly, holding his bleeding side in annoyance rather than pain. </p><p>“What were you doing out here?” Wilbur asked.</p><p>“Collecting wood for a fire,” Dream answered.</p><p>The three looked at him skeptically, and the masked man sighed.</p><p>“I had sticks for a reason. It’s not like I can use them to kill you three,” he said exasperatedly.</p><p>“I mean I <i>could</i>, but that wasn’t my original intention.”</p><p>“That’s reassuring,” Phil murmured sarcastically.</p><p>“Where’s your camp?” Techno asked.</p><p>“Temporary set-up, it’s not gonna benefit any of you to know.”</p><p>Techno pinched the bridge of his nose, “I asked so I can know if you can make it back yourself.”</p><p>…</p><p>“Oh.”</p><p>“You’re just gonna let him off after he attacked us?” Wilbur asked, eyes wide.</p><p>“This man can easily kill you, and I want to leave this forest unscathed. If he had the intention to kill us from the start he would’ve done so already.”</p><p>“I’m flattered,” Dream chuckled, only to be kicked on the side by Wilbur.</p><p>“Fuck you.”</p><p>“Suck it, green boy.”</p><p>Techno pulled back his sword completely before turning away from Dream, “Pick up your sticks and head back before more mobs spawn. We could care less if you’d be killed off by them.”</p><p>“You don’t want to kill me yourself?” Dream taunted, getting up from the ground. Both Phil and Wilbur still had their sights on him while Techno’s back was facing him.</p><p>“<i>‘Move only when there is a real advantage to be gained.’</i>”</p><p>“Wh--”</p><p>“Sun Tzu, Art of War.”</p><p>“Oh my god.”</p><p>Techno motioned for his friends to follow, and while there was some defiance to letting the wanderer go, they walked back to the path they originally followed without another word. Dream watched as their silhouettes disappeared into the night. The pain on his side was numbing thanks to his healing, but the bullet was still there. He would have to get back to the temporary base if he wanted to avoid an infected wound and stained jacket.</p><p>“I go out to get sticks and what do I get?” Dream mumbled to himself as he picked up the sticks he dropped and turned back to the way of the camp.</p><p>“Three soldiers and a bullet. Just my luck.”</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p>“Hi.”</p><p>“Hey Dream--<i>what the fuck?</i>”</p><p>“Yeah, long story. I’ll explain in the morning.”</p>
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